Merry Christmas 2009

In the email I sent out to Eric’s Tips subscribers last week, I had promised to give the results of our little fundraiser, so I’ll do that now…

In case you missed it, here’s a recap…

I was on my way to get my oil changed, when I heard a commercial on the radio for Cure International. So I decided: instead of watching TV in the lobby during my OIL CHANGE, maybe I could spend that time to help create REAL CHANGE in a child’s life.

So I sent out a quick email with my idea. I said I would donate 100% of my next commission payment that I received for a particular giveaway that I was promoting.

I never mentioned it in the email, but my goal was to raise at least $250, which would be enough to provide treatment for a child with a clubbed foot.

At first I was a little disappointed because it did not appear that we would meet my goal. But for some reason, the commissions were not paid out that day… it came the next day and was a payment for 3 days worth of commissions.

And when I logged into my Paypal account I was excited to see that the payment I received was EXACTLY $250. Isn’t it cool when stuff works out like that? So I went over to Cure International’s website and made the $250 donation for a clubfoot treatment.

Now, at this point you might be wondering… WHY am I so excited about a mere $250, when in fact Eric’s Tips subscribers have helped me raise tens of thousands of dollars for other good causes?

Here’s why…

That’s one child’s life that will be changed that might otherwise not have been. One child who will now be able to walk normally.

You’ve probably heard the modern “parable of the starfish”, which is adapted from a book by Loren Eiseley…

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

“I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, “It made a difference for that one.”

The moral of the story is…

Never underestimate the impact you can make when you do something to help someone else, no matter how small.

I’d like to finish this Christmas update with two videos…

The first video is from Cure International. As you see the children, be encouraged that we are helping a child like them, and be inspired to give more if you are able.

The final video is an introduction to a “movement” called Advent Conspiracy. It expresses much of what I’m feeling about this holiday season.

WARNING: This video contains Christian themes, just to let you know…

It’s pretty mind-blowing to think that we could SOLVE the problem of clean water and other plights around the world in one season. All we would have to do is spend a little less on presents and give a little more to those who need it most.

My younger brothers took the Advent Conspiracy to heart this year, and for my gift they donated flocks of geese, ducks, and chickens which will provide both food and livelihood to families in a third world country.

There’s nothing wrong with giving gifts (I’m still gonna give stuff), but let’s start to think about what we could do if we broke the societal mold and turned Christmas into something that truly changed the world.

I don’t mean to preach. This is still a marketing blog. But it’s something to think about.

83 comments on “Merry Christmas 2009”

Eric, thanks for everything you do. Just a note to all. Yes Eric is real and has personally replied to me several times. Here is a word especially to Kevin G., who wrote at 08:26 this morning. I too was fed up with all the \’guaranteed\’ places to sink money into IM training, with all the hype that I could not understand or put into perspective. A year ago, I decided to give it all up, as I did not think I would be able to master the biz. before I was called up yonder. I was deleating anything in my computer that was related to IM, when lo and behold, I somehow got linked to \’Eric\’s Tips\’. What a breath of fresh air. His instructional videos are so easy to understand. I am much more careful about who or what I subscribe to now. I have learned that if Eric recommends a product, it is good. I am still not up and making money, but it does at least make sense to me now. I am working on two business ideas and related websites. Thanks for all you do Eric and thanks for your fine example in your charity work.

It is the good news, the greatest story ever told, started with birth of a child, History, His story. It would not surprise me if this age is winding down and a new phase is about to begin in the realm of Jesus. If you believe in Him and help somebody along the way, you can get in. Praise the Lord.

The interesting thing is this: What they seek to do in the video is to help people and this production does it all – until the end…
At the end, it begins to mention “worship” hence Eric’s caveat, I suppose 🙂
If you are Christian, this will be fine. If not, then you could have a problem with it.
But the real point that I’m making is this; is the financial contribution from a non-believer any less effective in helping those that the video seeks to benefit?
Obviously not, so why do the makers insist on indulging their religious urges to perform ritual, as it could potentially alienate the un-aligned?
Surely help is nothing more, or less, regardless of what package it arrives wrapped up in?
The mention of Jesus is fine – a non-believer, or person of a different faith need have no issue with that – it’s why feast of Christmas exists. However, tying-in “worship” to that will be a different matter to some.

I wasn’t able to watch the videos until after my previous comments. The video says it all, regarding the awful waste in North America alone, and not just at Christmas. To Mike, I say, yes Jesus is the reason for the season. Why celebrate the season, but not worship the one true God? Man was created for one reason, to worship God.
Not to sound simplistic, but if we all tried a little harder to be like and do as Jesus taught, most of the problems we and the so called developing nations face would just disappear.

Eric . . . I am so glad to know there are People of UNITED Mind and Heart in this changing world. It is those like yourself that will be the “leaders” of the Age of Responsibility (aka The Aquarian Age) the age of Humanitarianism. BRAVO!
(your wife must Adore you!)
I have had many, many challenges in the past 7-10 years, but with your help it is my plan to be able to get back to making tithes to those charitable organization I used to (Habitat, Heifer, & Smile Train) by creating a continuous internet business that provides value to people.
Blessings…and more upon you and your family and your “internet family” too.

Though I am not Christian (I am in fact Wiccan), the facts are that we are all living on this planet together and ANYTHING we do to help one another is in fact life changing to both parties. I applaude your efforts to help even one child. There are some well digging groups in Africa that give like this and are a worthy cause as well. I think it is something life lifewater.ord or something. Anyway, it was started to help bring clean water to a whole village. Pretty worthy in my estimation…just a thought.

Hi Eric merry Christmas and a happy new year,
Your video on clean water reminded me of a news item a while back this year about a guy in Norfolk England who came up with a remarkable invention for cleaning water, you can see it at this link,http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/6999169.stm it’s one of those inventions that you see and never seam to hear of again,very interesting if they ever get the price down, what do you think,
Colin Brooks

Eric, I live in India, which is a supposedly third world country, and sometimes it hurts to see how much the people who have in plenty do not understand how blessed they are, and waste their resources. It takes some compassion to understand if you do away with little bit that you have and try to make things better for someone not as fortunate as you. Your last post (including the videos) really touched me. Wish you a happy 2010.

Hi Eric.
Have you ever visited http://www.thezanier.com?If not,you’re missing alot of tourism articles from Kenya.
Please log in and if possible link the site with other sites so that the world will benefit from my work.
Happy 2010.

Merry chtistmas and happy new year in advance. That was a great gesture,whenone life is changed and impacted for good, it may look small but it has ripple effect somewhere sometime. We are blessed to be a blessing. Thanks

Merry Christmas! Eric all of you.
A am late, I had a hard drive failure… lost a lot, I have some backups but not up to date, and I try now to re-create my world. Eric, any suggestion, is well taken.
Happy new year as well
Michaela

Ah I hate harddrive problems… I’ve had my fair share. I don’t know about re-creating your world, but going forward I would recommend getting a large backup drive and use something like Acronis to backup to it every night while you’re sleeping.

Hi Eric,
Happy new year and may the God of Abraham,Isaac,and Jacob bless for the good work your are doing. Eric sometime ago you introduced me to Traffic Sage. I tried to use their service but then realized that my country was not in the list in the country list in the form that I was filling. I went to their support site and sent a ticket two times. I have still not received any replies from them.How can I get in touch with them other than by thier support. I need help, Eric

Eric, I applaud any fund raising for good such as this one and the one Tellman is doing, however, I sent a dollar in once to some unscrupulous internet marketers and they took a bunch of money from my card. We help all our neighbors and the needy here and that’s all we can do. Good luck and God will provide.